PEARSE, Richard William

Richard William Pearse was born on 3 December 1877 at
Waitohi Flat near Temuka, the son of Digory Sargent Pearse, a
local farmer, and of Sarah Anne, née Brown. Pearse
early showed a gift for mechanical experiments, and in 1900
made his own lathe, and afterwards designed and built his
first aircraft in a workshop on the family farm. The machine
was of bamboo construction jointed with aluminium for
lightness, and had an eight-bladed sheet-steel propeller made
from cut-down sheep-dip tins. As this first engine lacked
sufficient power to lift the plane, Pearse designed a larger
model which he completed towards the end of 1903, making his
first two flights in the following March. Eye witnesses who
saw these at Waitohi Flat recalled that the plane climbed
slowly, pitched badly, and veered to the left before coming
to rest on top of a 12 ft hedge. The flight covered about 150
yards. The wing designs of this plane are preserved in the
New Zealand Patent Office, for he patented his controls in
1907. These revealed several notable features, the control
services all being attached to the wings. He also designed a
tricycle undercarriage with a steerable nose wheel. He
constructed the smaller engine parts himself, but had the
heavier cylinders and crankshafts made by Parr and Sons of
Timaru. Another notable feature of the plane was the pilot's
seat, which was set on a movable base, thus enabling him to
withstand a crash landing at 100 miles per hour. Pearse's
patent was No. 21476, and was gazetted on 8 August 1907.

After the war Pearse built himself a second aircraft –
recently discovered in a locked shed on the farm where it had
rested forgotten for over 40 years. A third plane combining
the principles of a helicopter and winged aeroplane is known
only by drawings and a few photographs. Its remarkable
engine, which Pearse designed, possessed six cylinders and
could be made to operate either as a six-cylinder two stroke,
or as a four-cylinder four stroke.

Pearse, who never married, died on 29 July 1953 at
Sunnyside Hospital, Riccarton, and was cremated at Bromley,
two days later. From all accounts he was a dour, taciturn
man, but he was undoubtedly a mechanical genius. His work
closely paralleled that of the Wright Brothers, with whom he
corresponded, and he was unfortunate in that their first
successful flight on 17 December 1903 at Kittyhawk, North
Carolina, preceded his own by a mere three months. Much
research, however, remains to be done before Richard Pearse's
contribution to aeronautics can be adequately assessed.

by Bernard John Foster, M.A., Research
Officer, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington.

From the 1966 Encyclopaedia

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How to cite this page: . 'PEARSE, Richard William', from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966.Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 22-Apr-09URL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/1966/pearse-richard-william